The plan was to try to do a quick sketch of a crater, but you know what they say about plans. I found a relatively empty crater to try to draw(or so I thought). I didn't know I was drawing Clavius at the time. I quickly realized that there's nothing quick about doing a sketch of the moon, and that there is more stuff up there than I ever imagined. I followed the moon across the entire sky, fixated on this one crater, I never ran out of little details to spot in there.

Needless to say, I had to leave a lot of details out of the sketch, and my camera butchered the quality. Doing this sketch really renewed my appreciation for the most spectacular, and most annoying object in the sky.

Attached Files

I used to avoid nights when the moon was out when I was just observing - sometimes with a few choice words as well. Since I've begun lunar sketching I now look forward to those nights. There's more time to get out under the night sky. Even if I don't feel like sketching I find that I enjoy observing the moon much more now.

I know what you mean, the moon really hurts the DSOs. I'm learning to just point the scope at the moon when it's up and am really enjoying it. I also like how no matter how hard they try, and how bright their lights get, those city folk can never take this object from the sky.

The plan was to try to do a quick sketch of a crater, but you know what they say about plans. I found a relatively empty crater to try to draw(or so I thought). I didn't know I was drawing Clavius at the time. I quickly realized that there's nothing quick about doing a sketch of the moon, and that there is more stuff up there than I ever imagined. I followed the moon across the entire sky, fixated on this one crater, I never ran out of little details to spot in there.

Needless to say, I had to leave a lot of details out of the sketch, and my camera butchered the quality. Doing this sketch really renewed my appreciation for the most spectacular, and most annoying object in the sky.

Tenth Enemy

Very nice. Your first attempt is excellent. It reminds me of the sketches by some master artists in my old antique astronomy books. If you are not pleased with your cameras recording of the art, you can retry on the photo or adjust contrast a little in the saved computer image.

I think you covered allot of the sentiments above here that many of us experience. THat "you never ran out of small details" *See Sol Robbins words on page 88 of the Astronomical Sketching book as he comments on this (in detail). Specifically that you left out allot of the details, imagine trying for the whole lunar surface in just under two hours. Imagine that there is no law that demands as what to render and what to leave out. I try to encourage others in that, it is what we do at all and not so much what we do not do to finish. I think it is best that we make an effort to try at all, even if we consider it as only practice and unfinished. Yet we are always influenced by what we see others do to some degree. You can decide that as you go along.

You will begin to step back allot and look at the bigger picture. I know that this is intimidating for some to take on too much at first. Many artists after some practice will focus on a specific image or central theme allowing the edges to roll off with less detail or rather unfinished in the outer perimeter in many general artworks also aside from astronomy.

I like to focus on the terminator line because it seems to be where the eye goes for most observers with its stark shadows and light and well defined lines. But now, I also enjoy rendering the entire surface with so many varied lighting and surface features. Although the entire moon seems like allot to tackle, it can be thought of as a fun challenge to work up to after some practice. The moon has so much to offer in overall image and it is there for much of the month, easy to see in light polluted skies. *Refer to the Rich Handy Tutorials here in the site for guidance and encouragement.

Mark: I thought about doing a sketch of the entire moon, but as soon as I looked in the eyepiece I thought "impossible." I took a look at your gallery and I think I get some of what you mean, you manage to capture the look, feel, and beauty of the moon while still leaving off significant portions of the detail seen at the eyepiece. Those sketches are fantastic by the way. I want to do something like that, but I'm still too uncomfortable with the pastels to attempt a target like the moon, it's a very intimidating object for me.

TenthEnemy, wonderful fist sketch. It's way better than mine, I'm still trying to figure out how to get a more natural feel to lunar scapes, and I agree with you on doing the "entire moon." It is intimidating, and I don't know where to pare it down.

I may be able to help a little. The way I did this is pretty simple actually. I started with a very light gesture, basically an oval for the crater and circles for the other craters, this is simply to get everything in the right place. Next is the most important step: contour. Just slowly draw all of the edges exactly as you see them over what you already have. Lastly, you want to shade, I used a soft pencil for shadows, medium for everything else, and didn't shade the brightest areas.

When you do it this way it won't look like anything until you shade, then it should all come together at the end. This can be tedious if you're drawing a large area, but the results come out quite good if you take your time studying the moon and working slowly.